


The Unconventional Firelord

by Ash_yeet



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang is trying his goddamn best, Awkward Romance, BEHOLD THE HOLY KITKAT OF UNRESOLVED SEXUAL TENSION, Dialogue Heavy, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fights, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Light Angst, Near Future, Post-Canon, Realistic, Slow Burn, Sparring, Toph Being Violent, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Zuko smirks a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24584827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ash_yeet/pseuds/Ash_yeet
Summary: [[WARNING: This fic has currently been discontinued. New chapters may be added eventually, but not soon.]]It's been two years since the avatar saved the whole world. Now Prince Zuko is Firelord Zuko, and everyone seems to have found their place in the world. Except for Katara.A short visit to the new firelord's palace grows long as Katar and Zuko finally open up to each other and start to see things about themselves they didn't realize were there.All this while Sokka and Suki are off making bad life choices.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 110





	1. A Visit to the Firelord

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fan fic ever and I'm mostly writing it for me.  
> Hope somebody enjoys it!  
> I will definitely keep updating it  
> Also I wrote this whole thing in 45 minutes at 1 am on a whim without editing soooooo

It’s been awhile.

Katara sits on Appa, gazing off at the ocean and the starry night sky. It reminds her of the days traveling with Aang and Sokka, going to find a waterbender teacher. Katara almost laughs to herself. He definitely doesn’t need a waterbending teacher now. It’s been, what, two years since then? Although it doesn’t feel like it. Everything's been moving so fast, and there’s so much work to do. Well, at least for everyone else. Katara glances over her shoulder at Sokka, Suki, and Toph, all fast asleep on Appa’s back. They deserve this little vacation to the fire nation. Aang has some “business” there anyway. Katara rolls her eyes. It’s just his excuse to go visit Zuko, and everyone knows it. Still, everyone came. Guess they all just want an excuse to see Zuko too.

Katara hears a long yawn from Appa’s head. She crawls over, popping her head up just behind Aang’s. 

“Getting tired, Mr. Avatar?” Katara quips, a little smirk creeping onto her face. Aang whips his head back and looks at her, smiling despite the obvious eyebags on his face.

“Nope! I’m just fine.” 

“C’mon Aang, you’ve never been good at staying up.” Katara creeps forward, sitting next to Aang. “I can take care of flying. You go get some rest.”

Aang’s smile falls as he turns to look at Katara, hands firmly wrapped around Appa’s reins. “Seriously Katara, I’m fine. I can handle a little flying.”

Katara looks down. “I-I know that. Just go get some sleep, for me.” Aang doesn’t respond. She puts a hand on his shoulder and gives him a sweet little smile. “Please?”

Aang sighs. “Fine.” He lets out another yawn. “I might as well.”

Katara watches him crawl back to the saddle, satisfied with herself. It’s been a few months since they broke up, and she’s happy to see him finally start treating her like normal again. Katara slides over and takes the reins, patting Appa’s soft head. Finally, some peace and quiet. She takes a deep breath of the fresh night air. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day.

“Welcome, Avatar Aang!”A voice rings out as Appa lands in the courtyard of the firelord’s palace. Katara yawns, sliding off of Appa’s neck. Thank god they’re here. She needs to take seriously long nap. A few fire nation servants dash over to help the others off of Appa. Katara stumbles over to Sokka who looks like he’s still waking up. A servant walks up and bows before Aang, a stupidly big and cheap smile on her face. 

“We welcome you to the firelord’s palace! It is an honour to have you here. Would you like a tour?” 

Aang awkwardly smiles. “Uhhhh, no thanks. We’ve, uh, been here before.” The woman stands completely still, smile not breaking. Katara glances over at Sokka, who shrugs. Weird lady, she guesses.

“Well, I should at least show you to your rooms! The fire lord’s palace is a marvel of fire nation architecture, is it not?”

Sokka snickers under his breath and turns to whisper to Katara. “Ju Dee much.” Katara lets out a little giggle as well. 

The “Ju Dee” stands there still smiling at them. Katara’s small grin fades away into awkwardness as they all stand around, not quite sure what to do.

“I thought I told you to let me know when they arrived, Kiyo.” Katara peers around the woman to see a man walking towards them. The servants bow as soon as they notice him.

Firelord Zuko.

The woman, presumably, Kiyo, turns to face Zuko, smile fading just a bit. 

“I didn’t want to bother you with such a trivial matter, o great firelord.” 

Zuko lets out a sigh and rubs his temples. He isn’t in a very firelord like outfit, His hair is longish and shaggy around his neck, and he’s wearing a simple fire nation tunic rather than a grand look. Makes sense, since it is early morning after all. 

“I told you, Kiyo, we’re just friends. There’s no need to be so formal.” Zuko lets out another sigh and waves his hands. “Just… go relax in the grand hall. I’ll call you if I need you.”

“Yes, firelord.” Kiyo says as she gives a deep bow and scurries away, the other servants in tow. 

“Just call me Zuko.” Zuko mutters under his breath, so faint Katara can barely hear it. After the courtyard is cleared, Zuko looks up and smiles.

“Good to see you.”

“ZUKO!” Aang shouts, launching himself with airbending right into a hug with Zuko. 

Zuko lets out a little laugh, a tiny smile resting on his face. “Hey Aang. It’s been awhile, huh?”

“Awhile!” Aang does a dramatic backflip, landing in front of Zuko and crossing his arms. “You haven’t come to visit once in the last six months.”

Zuko awkwardly laughs, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “Sorry, uh, I’ve been busy. Firelord stuff.”

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you didn’t want to hang out with us.” Katara says, walking down the path and standing next to Aang. 

Toph snorts as she strolls past Zuko.“Of course he wants to hang out with us, he doesn’t have any other friends!” 

Zuko snaps his head around raising his voice just a little. “Hey, I have friends!”

Toph turns to face him, hands on her hips. “Really? Who.” Zuko, stops to think for a moment.

“Mai.” 

“Your ex girlfriend? That’s rough, buddy.” Sokka says, walking by arm in arm with Suki. Appa plops down on the ground and starts munching on the lawn behind them. 

Zuko glares at Sokka. “Just because she’s my ex doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.” He grumbles. Katara isn’t laughing, though.

“I didn’t know you and Mai broke up.” Katara says. Zuko looks down at the ground, kicking at a little pebble.

“Yeah… I guess I just wasn’t right for her. It’s fine though.” He looks off and stares into the courtyard. “I’m not mad.” 

“That’s a first!” Toph shouts. Zuko whips around and glares at Toph.

“Fire beats earth, remember!” He yells back.

Toph laughs. “Not if it can’t catch me!” Zuko’s glare fades into a little smile though, as he watches Toph dash into the palace.

“I see she hasn’t changed one bit.”

“Nope.” Katara says, sighing. “Toph will always be Toph.”

Sokka then suddenly dashes by with Suki hot on his trail, fan brandished in her hand.

“You already ate my valentine’s day chocolate! THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A SURPRISE!” Suki shouts.

“I got HUNGRY!” They both disappear, palace doors slamming shut behind them. Katara, Aang, and Zuko all just stare at the door with blank expressions on their faces.

“Sokka will always be Sokka too, I guess.” Katara says after a few quiet seconds. Aang nods.

“At least Suki’s there to keep him from blowing anything up.” Aang stretches and yawns. “Whew, I forgot how uncomfortable sleeping on Appa can be. I’m going to take a nap.”

Katara reaches out as he walks by. “Wait Aang-”

“See you at lunch, Katara.” He yawns and the doors slam shut behind him, leaving only a very tired Katara and a very tired Zuko standing awkwardly in the courtyard.

“So… how have you been?”

  
  



	2. Awkward Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Katara have some awkward encounters, and Sokka has some trouble with cactus juice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a proofreader! Shout out to my amazing friend who proofread my work and saved my ass from grammar and spelling errors.  
> I'll also be trying to make chapters longer.  
> If you're here, go check out my original work titled Inara! It's a full novel I wrote for NaNoWriMo last year.
> 
> Thanks for reading :)

There’s an awkward pause. Katara continues to stare at the door that just slammed shut behind Aang. How can he be so clueless, leaving her all alone out here with Zuko and nothing to talk about? Aang’s always been the friendship guy. And Sokka’s the funny guy. Sure, Katara can talk to people, but Zuko? That’s always been a bit of a different story. 

She snaps out of her thoughts and turns to face Zuko, who’s awkwardly eyeing the scenery around him.

“Uh… good. It’s been good.” Katara finally says.

Zuko is a little startled and looks down at her, a sheepish little smile creeping onto his face. “That’s, uh… good.” There’s another awkward pause. Zuko shifts his feet around a little. “Are you and Aang still, uh-”

“No, no. We split off a few months ago.”

“Oh. I’m, uh, sorry. About that.”

“No, it’s really fine.” Katara bites her lip and stares off at a very interesting bush. “We’re still… chill.”

“That’s good.”

There’s a very, very long pause. Katara just stares down at the ground, and Zuko looks around, neither of them quite sure what to say. Usually Aang or someone else comes up with the conversation topic.

Zuko finally clears his throat. “Should I, maybe, show you to your room-”

“Yes.” Katara says hurriedly. “I mean… yeah. That sounds good.”

The two walk down the halls of the palace, saying nothing to each other. The ceilings hang low, and the walls are covered in rich and colorful tapestries. Intricate paper lanterns hang from the ceiling, filling the halls with a warm fiery glow. Katara glances at Zuko, who doesn’t seem to be acting quite like his usual self. He seems tense, walking beside her with raised shoulders and a quick pace. She tilts her head curiously at him.

“Something wrong? You seem nervous.” Zuko jumps a little, clearly startled by her words. 

He looks at her, surprised. “Oh… you could tell.”

“I’m pretty surprised too.” Katara laughs a little. “Usually you’re terrible at expressing your emotions. Or just emotion in general.”

Zuko laughs a little, too. “Yeah. I’ve been, uh, working on that.” 

“Really?” Katara shrugs. “I mean, that’s good.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Zuko lets out an exasperated sigh. “It’s hard, though.” Katara looks away, not quite sure how to respond to that. Especially coming from Zuko. She decides to take the Sokka route and try and lighten the atmosphere. 

“No duh it’s hard.” She says, smiling. “Firebending’s whole thing is emotion. I mean, if the other types of bending were based on emotion there’s  _ no way _ we would’ve won.”

“You’d still have Sokka-” Zuko pauses. “Yeah there’s no way you would’ve won.” Kutara laughs, a genuine, full laugh. Zuko watches her, and then starts laughing too. Katara’s laughter slowly fades away, as she opens her eyes to see Zuko standing there, looking at her, a smile on his face. She looks back, and their eyes lock for a moment. A light pink blush creeps onto Katara’s face and she quickly looks away, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. She can feel her heart racing.  _ What the hell is going on?  _ She thinks.  _ Get yourself together, Katara.  _ She turns back around to see Zuko walking away as if nothing had happened. He looks back at her.

“You coming?” 

Katara hastily nods, jogging back up to his side. Katara’s just about to open her mouth to say something when Zuko interrupts her.

“We’re here.” He says, stopping and gesturing to a polished oak door to his side. 

“Oh.” Katara says softly. “That was fast.” 

Zuko smiles. “Can’t make the palace too big, or else the servants would get lost.” They both stand there, looking at each other. There’s an awkward yet comfortable silence hanging between them. Zuko’s eyes dart to the side. “Are you, uh, going in?” 

Katara snaps out of her gaze, blushing a little. “Oh, right! Sorry, spaced out.” She laughs. “Tired, y’know?” There’s another pause. “See you for lunch-”

“NooOOoOOoOoO I DON’T need any sLEEP!” A male voice shouts from down the hall. There’s an exasperated sigh, and then a female voice.

“Sokka, you have to go to bed! It’s the only way to fix this.” The woman says.

“I’m feeling fine what do you meaaaaaaan.” Sokka yells again, his words slurring together.

Katara groans. “For god’s sake.” 

She and Zuko watch as Sokka wanders down the hall, a ridiculously goofy smile on his face. Suki dashes around a corner and runs towards Sokka, grabbing him just as he reaches Zuko and Katara.

“Suki, what is going on?” Katara asks, looking between the exasperated Suki and half dead looking Sokka. 

“He accidentally drank some cactus juice...” Suki says sheepishly.

Katara glares at Suki. “Cactus juice? Why do you even have that on you?!”

“I’ve been trying to create some poison, ok! I thought the cactus juice might make a good paralysis ingredient.” She glances down at Sokka, who is draped in her arms. “Guess I shouldn’t have left it out.”

“Cactus juice…?” Zuko mutters in confusion, but nobody pays attention to him.

Sokka suddenly perks up, raising a limp hand to point angrily at Zuko. “Katara, watch out! It’s Prince Zuko!”

“Sokka no-” Katara protests, but he’s already launching himself at Zuko.

“I’ll save you- AHG!” Zuko takes a small step to the side to dodge and watches as Sokka runs face first into the wall, collapsing on the ground in a drunken stupor. Suki groans as she hoists him up and starts dragging him down the hall. 

“Alright, it’s time for you to go to sleep.” Suki sighs. “SORRY ABOUT THAT!”

Katara and Zuko stare blankly off into the hall as the two disappear behind the corner.

Zuko turns to look at Katara. “How are those two still together?”

“I have no idea.” The hall is quiet. “I’m just going to go to bed now.”

“Good choice.”

Katara wakes up, yawning as delicate beams of sunlight shine through the blinds of the windows in her room. She stumbles out of bed and peers through the blinds, her long brown hair flowing in a tangled mess down her back. She squints at the courtyard just outside her window. It looks like it’s a little past noon. Damn, she slept for hours. Probably missed lunch with the group. She sighs as she strolls over to the dresser, tying her hair up in it’s usual braid. She was looking forward to some fire nation food. Strangely enough, it’s grown on her. Although some of it is a little too spicy for her water tribe taste buds. She stops, sitting on the edge of the bed as she fiddles with her braid. A few moments pass before she hears a knock on the door. She quickly gets up, throwing on a simple fire nation dress that had been laid out for her before pulling open the door.

She opens it to reveal Sokka standing there, fiddling with a marble in his hands. Her face falls a little, and she realizes she was kind of hoping Zuko would be there. Before she can think on this more Sokka grabs her arm and pulls her out of the room, shutting the door behind them with his foot. 

“Finally, you’re awake! You missed lunch.” Sokka proclaims, letting go of Katara’s arm. 

Katara scoffs at him, smirking a little. “I see you’ve finally recovered from that little cactus juice incident, huh?”

Sokka whips his head around and glares at her. “Yes. As a matter of fact, I have.”

Katara giggles. “I can’t believe you drank cactus juice without knowing.”

“Well how was I supposed to know!” Sokka shouts, crossing his arms. “Come on, everyone else is up already. They’re all waiting in the courtyard.” 

Katara gets the last of her laughs out. “Fine, fine. I’m ready, don't worry.”

Katara and Sokka entire the courtyard. It’s a large yard, full of trees and paved stone paths. A small fountain sits in the middle, and their friends are all gathered around a pai sho table where Aang and Suki already sit, staring intensely at each other. Katara spots Zuko leaning against the stone fountain, not particularly interested in Aang and Suki’s game. He looks up as Katara walks down the path, giving a little wave to her. Without realizing it, she waves back, her pace quickening just a bit. 

“Oh Sokka, you’re back!” Suki says, looking up from the board to watch as Sokka walks up to her, giving her a little kiss on the cheek. “Glad to see you’re up too, Katara.”

Katara forces herself to ignore Zuko and walks over to the pai sho table. “Oh, pai sho! Why don’t you play a round, Sokka?”

“Oh, he already has.” Toph quips, walking up behind Katara. “He got beat by Suki in what, a minute?”

“56 seconds and counting.” Suki says with a smirk on her face. Sokka grumbles.

“You didn’t have to tell her that.” Suki just laughs at Sokka’s remark and turns back to the board, getting right back into her game.

Katara’s eyes trail off to where Zuko is standing. He is staring into the blue sky, a light breeze touseling his black hair. Her feet drift over to him and she finds herself standing by his side, looking over at Aang and Suki.

“Not much of a pai sho person, eh?” Katara says, snapping Zuko out of his little trance. He looks over at her, clearly just now noticing that she’s there.

“No. Pai sho’s always been my uncle’s thing, not mine. I don’t really get it.”

“Clearly Sokka doesn’t get it either.” Katara snorts. Zuko doesn’t laugh with her, though. He’s still just staring off at the sky. After a moment, though, he looks at Katara.

“How is my uncle, anyway? You were the last ones who visited him.” Zuko asks. 

“He’s just running his tea shop, as usual. Toph visits him plenty, don’t worry.” 

Zuko looks off, thinking for a moment. “I’m glad. He deserves some peace, after all he’s done.” The pair stand next to each other, admiring the leaves as they shake in the spring breeze. Katara had never realised how beautiful the fire nation could be, especially not back in the war days. Then again, she’s sure it wasn’t so pretty in those days, anyway. She looks back over as she hears a shout. Aang triumphantly leaps out of his chair, leaving a defeated Suki to be comforted by Sokka. Aang dashes up to Zuko and Katara, a big smile planted on his face. 

Zulo smiles back down at him. “Guessing you won?”

“Yep!” Aang grins as he stretches his arm. “And now I’m feeling a little cocky.” He reaches out his arm, pointing right in Zuko’s face. “Let’s spar!”

Zuko laughs. “A fight with the Avatar? Doesn’t seem very fair.” He takes Aang’s hand and shakes it. “You’re on.”


	3. Fighting??

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko spars with some people while Toph yells about violence in the background.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a ridiculously long time to write because I have the attention span of a goldfish, but I got it done! There might be some spelling/grammar errors so I apologize for that.  
> Shoutout to lettersfromnowhere for commenting! This is the first fic I've ever written so it honestly made my day to see someone comment. Thank you everyone for reading <3

“YEAH, GO ZUKO! BEAT HIS ASS!” Toph yells at the top of her lungs. Aang looks over to her. They’re standing in the middle of a field not too far from the palace, surrounded by orange-tinted grass that swirls in the wind, creating an ocean like effect. Toph and the others are all sitting on some earthbended rock and dirt seats. 

Aang sighs. “Toph, we haven’t even started yet!” He looks over to Zuko, who shrugs, and then back to Toph. “Also, why are you rooting for him?!”

Toph thinks on this for a moment. “I dunno, I just like seeing you lose.”

Katara shakes her head in disapproval, glaring over at Toph. “They aren’t even _really_ fighting. It’s just training, to keep on top of their skills.”

“If they were as good as me, they wouldn’t need to fake fight in order to keep on top of their skills.” Toph scoffs.

“If you’re so great, maybe you could earthbend us some more comfortable seats!” Sokka shouts at Toph. A rock promptly shoots up from his seat, launching him face first into the dirt below. Toph laughs and Katara sighs, turning back to Zuko and Aang who stand in the middle of the field. 

They bow to each other, in traditional fire nation fashion of course, and take their stances. Katara looks between them, not quite sure who to root for. I mean, it’s just training but… still. She decides to just sit there and not say anything. The two begin to circle around each other, resting in casual fighting positions. 

Toph groans. “C’MON! SHOOT SOME FIRE!” Katara glances past Toph, spotting Sokka scarfing down some sort of snack. Of course.

Katara jerks her head around as she hears a loud _whoosh_. Aang has sent out a blast of air, jumping onto an air scooter. Zuko easily dodges, launching into a smooth kick. Katara finds herself leaning forward a bit, watching as the bright orange flames fly from his boot and shoot directly towards Aang, who promptly skirts around it. Zuko lands and looks up at Aang, a little smirk planted on his face. 

Katara suddenly feels a little heat on her cheeks, as a light blush creeps over her face. She had never realized he looked like, well… this. The two continue their casual spar, showing off their evasion tactics more than actually focusing on winning. Katara watches eagerly. Is it just her, or has Zuko gotten better? Like, _a lot_ better. His moves are so much smoother and sharper than they used to be. During each fiery assault, his flames never go out of control, the orange edges just licking the outside of its intended target. Of course, he’s being careful, but still. The fluidity of his movements almost reminds her of water bending, in a way.

“YEAH! WOOOOO!” Katara is brutally snapped out of her peaceful observation by Toph, who is bouncing around and cheering loudly as Aang slams a massive rock into the ground in front of Zuko, sending him flying back a few feet. Katara rolls her eyes at Toph, but can’t help smiling a bit. It’s always been nice to have someone like Toph around, someone who’s constant and unchanging. Stubborn, just like the very rock she bends. Katara’s eyes drift back to the fight. Zuko leaps back up, jumping over the boulder and bringing a fiery kick down on Aang. Aang sends a blast of air at Zuko, launching himself away and extinguishing the flames surrounding Zuko’s foot. Katara tenses, sitting on the edge of her seat. She watches as he twists around, preparing to land and sweep another kick at Aang with his other leg. Aang would never see it coming!

Katara’s body moves on its own as she leaps up and shouts into the field, “Go Zuko!” She’s grinning, but her smile quickly fades as her coherent brain catches up with her impulses. _What the hell was that for?!_ She thinks to herself. Zuko looks at her from midair, seemingly shocked. He then lands hard on his feet, missing his planned kick and becoming unbalanced in the process. He still looks over, somehow finding her eyes and looking right into them. The moment is ruined, however, as Aang launches over and tackles Zuko, carefully pinning him to the ground.

“I win!” Aang proclaims, laughing. Zuko snaps back into reality, looking up at Aang’s massive grin. He starts laughing too.

“Yeah.” He says, smiling, as he stands up and brushes some dirt off from his rather fancy red and yellow tunic. “You won.” They both bow to each other and walk towards the group, who are all clustered around Toph’s homemade “seats”. 

Toph crosses her arms as Zuko approaches. “Pssht, well that was lame. You guys barely fought!” 

“Fighting the firelord is a lot harder than it looks, Toph.” Aang retorts. But toph just smirks.

“Besides, you couldn’t see half of it. They fought a lot in the, y’know, air.” Katara says.

“Well even if I could see it, I’m sure it would still be lame.”

Sokka saunters up to Zuko, putting an arm around his shoulder. “Hey, you were looking a little distracted out there. Something up?” Zuko shakes his head, dismissing Sokka’s concern.

“No, I’m fine. Just a little rusty, I guess.” He says, but his eyes drift over to where Katara is standing. She quickly busies herself, fiddling with the edges of her hair. 

Toph continues to pout. “Maybe give it your all next time, Zuko. I don’t think I can cheer for a loser.” Zuko continues to ignore Toph, focusing on getting Sokka to stop hanging on him. “Pretty sure Katara could beat you, and she hasn’t had a real fight in months!”

This comment catches Zuko’s attention, and he turns to face Toph. “Not sure about that…” He says, his face never changing. Katara whips her head around, staring right at Zuko.

“What? I could beat you, easy.”

Zuko shrugs, attempting to suppress a smirk that has begun to slowly creep onto his face. “I don’t know… you’re pretty strong, but I _am_ the firelord.”

Katara knows he’s just riling her up a little, but her poor emotional control doesn’t really care about that. She stomps up to him, poking him in the chest. “Well _I’m_ a master waterbender, and I could beat you anytime.” She smirks, letting her hand drop to her side. “In fact, I’ll fight you right now, to prove it.” Zuko doesn’t respond. “Or are you too scared?”

Toph lets out an “oooooooo”. Zuko shrugs, bowing to Katara. “If you insist, Katara.” He looks up at her, smirking. “I’ll gladly oblige.”

This time it’s Katara who stands out in the field, facing Zuko, who stands 15 or so feet in front of her. She takes a deep breath. Unlike Aang, she isn’t going to go easy. She has a point to prove now, and, well, to be honest she just wants the satisfaction of beating Zuko. Not that she hasn’t done that before, of course. They had plenty of real battles back in the war days, most of which Katara won. She closes her eyes and uses her bending to “feel” around her, searching for an easy source of water. She smiles to herself. There’s a creek running through this field, flowing down to a cliff on her left. It isn’t too far from her. Perfect. 

“ANNNNNND…. GO!” She snaps her eyes open as Toph shouts from her right. She gets in a basic waterbending stance, narrowing her eyes at Zuko. His face looks serious. She hopes he won’t be holding back either. 

She dashes to the side, keeping an eye on Zuko to make sure he doesn’t launch an attack. He just stands there in his resting position, watching as she runs towards the creek. She can’t help but smile a little as she feels the water get closer. He must’ve really lost his touch if he’s just letting her get to her weapon. Katara skids to a stop, a few feet away from the creek. She takes a deep breath, drawing the water out of the creek with a fluid hand motion and tunneling it around her, leaving two bubbles of clear water wrapped around her fists. 

She then dashes towards Zuko. As soon as she’s within range she launches two spears of water out, freezing them into solid skewers of ice headed straight for Zuko. She slides away and looks back, expecting Zuko to dodge. But he doesn’t. He holds his ground. Then he releases two funnels of fire from his hands that intercept the spears just before the tip scrapes his palm. The ice boils away within a second. Katara swirls around, launching a few more ice spears at him, only for him to do the exact same thing, leaving steam floating from his hands. She pauses as she realizes what he’s doing: He’s trying to turn all of her water into steam so she has to go back to the creek for more. She almost chuckles out loud. Little does he know, she has a new trick up her sleeve. 

Katara extends her hands, looking at the steam rising off of Zuko’s arms. She moves her fingers, drawing water droplets out of the air and into the snake of water that she has wrapped around her. Zuko’s stance falls as he watches in shock.

“I didn’t know water benders could draw water out of thin air.” Zuko says, looking at Katara. Then he smiles a little. “Impressive.”

For some reason, Zuko’s little smile causes Katara’s face to grow red. She tries to come up with some sarcastic quip, but her mind has gone blank. Suddenly, Zuko launches at her, grabbing her arm and pinning her onto the ground. For a moment they’re stuck there, looking at each other’s eyes. Katara had never realized how golden his good eye was. She shakes her head, quickly snapping out of her trance as she sees a flame begin to grow in Zuko’s raised hand. She hunches her legs up and kicks him off her, rolling backwards and onto her feet. She steadies herself, looking at Zuko who is now kneeling with one knee on the ground. 

Katara unfurls the water wrapped around her, sending it flying towards Zuko in a few fluid motions. Before she’s able to wrap it around him, however, he spins around, his feet releasing a massive burst of hot red flames. It breaks Katara’s bubble of water, sending it flying in droplets all over the field. That doesn’t phase her, of course. She takes the water wrapped around her fists and shapes it into a classic water whip, sending the water flying at Zuko once again. He jumps around, avoiding the water whip's cracking tip. He stops, sending a funnel of flames directly at Katara. She has to think fast. She haphazardly drops to the ground, letting the flames pass over her. She can feel the heat on her back, but she’s never burned. Thank god for Zuko’s new firebending precision. When the flames have passed she looks up, expecting to see Zuko still standing there. But he’s not. She quickly rolls around, her breathing heavy as she looks up to see Zuko standing there. He looks like he just landed there after leaping over her. Before he can properly prepare an attack, Katara sends a splash of water right at his eyes, using his temporary blindness to jump up and tackle Zuko to the ground.

She digs an elbow into his shoulder with one arm and holds his wrist down with the other. He shakes the water from his eyes, and Katara braces for an attack. But instead, Zuko just gives her a little half smile, half smirk. 

“You have gotten better. Your ice is a lot harder to melt.” He says, without a hint of malicious intent in his words. The compliment catches Katara off guard, and her determined look slips from her face. She can feel that stupid blush again, creeping over as heat fills her whole face. Her surprise causes her to subconsciously loosen her grip, letting Zuko pull his wrist out from her grasp and push her away with his hand. She grumbles, landing awkwardly in the dirt. Of course he used that to catch her off guard! She snaps her head up, watching as Zuko gets ready to run away again. Not this time. 

Katara focuses, drawing water from the creek, grass, and air around her. Four tall, icy walls emerge from the ground, trapping her and Zuko.

“Can’t run away now, huh, Zuko!” Katara shouts at him. She’s a little exhausted, but she’s too stubborn to let it show. She’s also still blushing, but she’s convinced herself to ignore that and focus on the task at hand. Zuko looks at her, leveling his stance.

“Well?” He asks, gesturing for Katara to attack. She rolls up her sleeves and gathers up a bubble of water, determined to smack Zuko across the face no matter how flustered she is. She launches at him, but it’s too late. She has already fallen into the trap of her greatest weakness; when she gets flustered, she gets sloppy. Despite her emotional state, her attack is very good. On any other person she would’ve landed a perfect hit. But this is the firelord. He’s able to narrowly dodge to the side, grabbing her arm and pinning her up against the wall. He firmly holds on to her wrists, using classic leverage tactics to keep her from breaking free. 

Katara recovers from her slam into the wall, looking up at Zuko and readying herself to kick with all her might. But then she stops. Zuko isn’t smirking or glaring at her. He’s just looking at her. Staring into her eyes. She feels her heartbeat begin to quicken, blood rushing up to her already blushing cheeks. She’s staring at him, too. Everything seems to have sort of… stopped. She looks at his scar, the scar that she’s never seen him without. She was always certain he thought of it as something ugly, as a burden, but looking at it now, it was beautiful, in a way. It had always been a part of what made him… him. A part of Zuko.

Zuko takes a small step forward, his grip relaxing on Katara. They’re close now, closer than she thinks she’s ever been to him before. Her heart is pounding. He leans down towards her, their noses almost touching. _Is he going to…_ Katara thinks. But then that thought stops as he leans back, taking a hand off of her wrist and placing it gently on her chest. He smiles.

“I win.”


	4. The Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko and Katara take a late night walk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say this time. I've been trying to keep the quality up so I hope you enjoy reading.  
> Thank you to everyone who comments/give kudos. Really makes me feel motivated <3

That goddamn blush hasn’t gone away yet.

Katara and Zuko are both standing back by the seats, their friends surrounding them. Well, Zuko, mostly. Katara isn’t particularly engaged with reality right now. She glances over her shoulder, half looking and half glaring at Zuko. He’s just standing there, talking with Aang and Toph. Laughing. He looks completely unphased about what just happened.  _ What  _ **_did_ ** _ just happen? _ Katara asks herself, but she shakes the question away. She doesn’t feel like dealing with her emotions right now. 

Zuko suddenly looks up, spotting Katara, who hadn’t realized she was still staring at him. He raises his hand and waves her over. Katara sighs and strolls over to their group, trying her best to force the blush off of her face. It only half works. She reaches the trio and stops, standing there with her muscles all tense and stiff. Zuko glances over at her. 

“Good job, Katara.” He says. Again, she can’t find any hint in his voice that he’s teasing or lying. She gives him a curt nod, trying to relax her posture a bit.

“Yeah, uh… thanks,” She brushes a stray lock of her brown hair out of her face. “You did good too.”

“Of course he’s good if he beat you that easily.” Toph says, grinning. “But don’t worry too much. He  _ is  _ the firelord after all.”

“I beat him!” Aang protests. 

Toph sighs. “You’re the avatar, it doesn’t count.”

“Technically, I’ve beaten two firelords, one during Sozin's comet, but FINE, TOPH.” Aang grumbles, crossing his arms. Katara laughs a little, strangely happy with Toph’s odd encouragement. Katara looks behind her as Sokka and Suki walk up. 

“I’m sure Katara fought very hard. We couldn’t see anything inside that ice box, anyway.” Sokka says, putting an arm on Katara’s shoulder.

Toph smirks, looking directly at Katara. “Well  _ I  _ could still see.” Katara’s face turns beet red. She quickly jerks her head down and stares at the dirt, her cheeks burning with heat. She can hear Toph start to laugh. Oh, of course Toph find’s Katara’s humiliation hilarious. She doesn’t even know why she cares so much. It’s not like it was any big deal. Zuko was just trying to win that stupid fight.

Right?

Katara glances up at Zuko, who doesn’t seem bothered by Toph’s comment at all. He looks up at the sky and then back down at Aang.

“We should get back. I don’t want to worry anyone back at the palace.” He says. Aang nods.

“Alright. Hey, Toph!” He turns to Toph. “Bet I can beat you there!”

Toph grins. “You’re on!” They both dash away, leaving a trail of wrecked plants and stray rocks behind them. Sokka, Suki, Zuko, and Katara all start to walk towards the palace.

“Hey.” Katara hears a voice, and looks over to see Zuko fall into place beside her. She avoids eye contact. “Nice job back there. You’re getting stronger.”

Katara looks down, hiding her red cheeks. “We’re not fighting anymore. You don’t have to keep the compliments up.” 

Zuko stares at her quizzically. “What?” He looks down, seeming a little sadder. “I was just trying to be encouraging.” Katara stares over at him.  _ Of course! Why would he-  _ Katara thinks. She wants to slap herself in the face.  _ Augh! You’re so stupid.  _

“Oh.” Is all that manages to slip out of Katara’s mouth. “S-sorry.” She manages to give him a little awkward smile. He smiles back.

“No, it’s cool, haha.” They both look down at the ground, walking in awkward silence.

“You, uh… you’re getting better, too.” Katara says after a few moments. Zuko looks up at her and she blushes. “At fighting, I mean.”

“Oh, thanks.” He fiddles with his fingers a little. “That means a lot, coming from you.”

“It does?”

“Well, yeah. I mean… you’re a great water bender, probably one of the best around.”

“You still managed to beat me, though.”

Zuko looks at her. “You seemed a little off.”

Katara bites her lip, butterflies filling her stomach. “Yeah, I… I guess I was.”

“If you aren’t feeling well, I can call a-”

“No, no, it’s not that. I’m fine, really.” She smiles at him. “Thanks, Zuko.” Zuko’s cheeks turn a little pink. He coughs a little.

“Yeah. Yeah, No problem.”

Katara’s lying in her bed, staring up at the wooden ceiling. Dinner was fine, and the food was good. But she didn’t really notice. She stared at Zuko the whole time. His smile just makes her so...happy.  _ Ugh, what is wrong with me!  _ She thinks, rolling over and burying her face into her pillow. What does Zuko have that’s so special, anyway? Sure, he’s kinda hot and is the firelord, but she knew him before he was either of those things. She groans, frustrated with herself. Has he always been this nice to her? She rolls back over, trying to banish all thoughts of Zuko from her mind. She can deal with those tomorrow. For now, she needs to sleep.

She can’t sleep. 

She sighs, rolling out of bed and heading over to the dresser to light a candle. It’s only been an hour or so, but she’s decided to give up on this fruitless endeavor. She thought she’d be tired after fighting today, but her adrenaline must still be pumping or something, because she just can’t get comfy. She stomps over to a bowl of fire nation sweets resting on the dresser, popping one into her mouth. She leans against the wall, resigning herself to a late night. Lucky for her, somebody else is also having a hard time sleeping.

A few minutes pass before she hears a knock on her door. She looks up, wondering who would be calling for her at midnight. When she opens the door she finds Zuko standing there, wearing his usual simple fire nation tunic. 

“Zuko? What are you doing up this late?” Katara asks. Zuko smiles awkwardly.

“I could ask the same for you.”

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m fine, just…” Zuko sighs, letting out an awkward little laugh. “Well, I couldn’t sleep, so I was walking around and saw you had a candle lit so I figured you were up, too.” He clenches his teeth. “I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

“No, no, it’s okay. I can’t sleep either.” Katara says, running her fingers through her hair.

“Do you want to… walk with me?”

Before Katara can really think about this, an answer slips out of her mouth. “Yes!” She says, a little too enthusiastically. She clears her throat. “I mean, yes. I do.” She looks down, realizing she’s been standing here in her nightwear, a grayish bra with a short white skirt. Her face turns bright red. “Let me just, uh, change. First.” Zuko’s face suddenly turns red as well.

“Oh, uh, right. Sorry. Take your time.”

Katara gives a quick nod before shutting the door. She takes a deep breath, changing into some normal clothes as quickly as she can. Her thoughts are racing, and her heart is pounding.  _ Calm down, Katara.  _ She tells herself.  _ It’s just a walk.  _ She looks at herself in the mirror, smoothing down her dress. Then she opens the door and smiles.

“I’m ready.”

Zuko and Katara walk down the halls, heading deeper into the palace. Katara looks at Zuko, trying desperately to keep her nerves at bay.

“Are we going somewhere in particular?” She asks. 

Zuko runs his fingers through his jet black hair. “Yes, actually. There’s another garden that I thought you might like.” He pauses, his cheeks turning a light pink. “I-I just mean it’s nice, and… y’know… gardeny.” Katara can’t help but snicker a little. Zuko looks at her with a shy smile. “Sorry, I’m not the best with words.”

“It’s fine.” Katara laughs. “I live with my brother, and he’s certainly not any better.” There’s a long, silent pause. Katara tries to muster up something to say. “So… how’s your firelord work been lately?”

“Not much has happened.” He sighs. “That’s a good thing, though. We’ve spent the last few months completely changing the school systems. Everything we used to teach was so… wrong.” Zuko lowers his voice a little. “A lot of people weren’t happy with us changing everything, though.” 

“Oh… I’m sorry. That must be hard.” Katara says. Zuko shrugs.

“It’s just how it is.” 

Katara looks down at the floor, not sure what to say. She looks over at Zuko, who is now facing straight ahead. She reaches over and gently takes his hand, wrapping her fingers around his palm. He looks at her, surprised. 

“Do you… need something?” He asks, making eye contact with Katara. Katara turns red with embarrassment, and snaps her hand away.

“No. S-Sorry.” She bites her lip, avoiding eye contact with Zuko. Why on earth would she do that? Her stomach seems to swirl around, making her feel sick . She wants to slam her head into the wall for doing something so flat-out weird. But she doesn’t get the chance. She feels Zuko’s hand reach out and grab her wrist. He intertwines his fingers with hers. She looks at him and sees him smiling.

“It’s okay. The palace is pretty big if you aren’t used to it.” Katara stares at him, a smile of her own emerging on her face. She simply nods, unable to muster any words. The sound of her pounding heart fills her ears.

A few minutes later they reach a glass door. Zuko releases Katara’s hand, and she puts it on the intricate glass door. 

“Oh wow… Is… is this it?” She asks. Zuko nods, pushing the doors open to reveal a beautiful garden. Unlit paper lanterns dangle off of awnings that line the sides of the space. The moon is full and shining up above, giving the colorful mixture of red and soft blue flowers an unnatural looking glow. Stone paths wind through the space, and a creek cuts in-between the bushes and flowers that fill every inch of soil. In the center, there is a large tree. Pink blossoms float down from its branches, petals covering the stone like a carpet. Katara almost gasps out loud. 

Zuko notices her expression and smiles, letting the door shut quietly behind them. “Do you like it?” Zuko asks. Katara can’t help herself from beaming.

“It’s beautiful… how on earth did you get something like this to grow here?”

“I wanted to make the palace feel a little less, well, fire nation-y, so I commissioned some architects to build a few more gardens.” He looks over the garden with pride. “I think it was worth it.” Katara nods, taking a few steps into the space. The stone feels smooth and cool under her bare feet. 

Katara and Zuko wander farther down the stone path, Katara admiring the bushes full of golden and silver flowers. She reaches the tree in the center, which is aglow with brilliant moonlight.

“I didn’t realize there was a full moon tonight.” She says, looking up at the starry night sky. 

“You could definitely beat me in a fight now.” Zuko says with a laugh. Katara laughs, too. When they stop laughing, they’re both looking at each other. For a moment they stay that way.

Katara then clears her throat, gesturing to the garden around her. “Why did you want to show me this place anyway?”

Zuko looks down, embarrassed. “Well… to be honest…” Pink creeps over his cheeks as he pauses, twirling his thumbs. “These flowers reminded me of you.” He points down to a bush of flowers that Katara stands by. They are a pale blue, and they seem almost radiant in the moonlight. They seem like rather simple flowers, with only a few delicate petals, but they have a thin shimmer to them, a sort of glitter sprinkled onto the flower’s surface. “They’re tough flowers that can grow in a lot of different places. And they thrive in moonlight like this.” Zuko pauses, waiting for some kind of response from Katara. But she doesn’t say anything. “... you know, kind of like you.” Katara still doesn’t say anything. Zuko becomes flustered. “S-Sorry if that sounded stupid.”

“No. I just… I don't really know how to respond. To that.” Katara laughs nervously. 

“Oh. Yeah. Haha.” Zuko takes a step towards Katara. “They’re also really… pretty,” He blushes. “In the moonlight.”

Katara’s breath catches in her throat. “Y-yeah, they are.” She manages to sputter out. Zuko gingerly takes Katara’s hand, looking down at her pure blue eyes that shimmer in the night. 

His voice goes quiet. “You’re really beautiful, too.” Katara freezes, and all she can feel is her heart thumping wildly in her chest. Time seems to drag on as they stand there, unmoving. Zuko moves, taking a step back and slowly pulling his hands away from hers. He turns to face the path leading back into the palace.

“It’s getting late. You should go to bed.” 

Katara nods, taking a final glance at the blue flowers. “Right.”


	5. A Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko has emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been dealing with some really bad headaches lately, so this chapter as well as tomorrow's are going to be a bit shorter. Again, thanks to my proofreader, saving me on multiple occasions.   
> I'll be trying to continue to update once a day, but I might update once every 2 days soon.  
> Thanks for reading! <3

Katara sits at a round, wooden table, aimlessly poking at her breakfast food. 

“Are you going to eat that, Katara?” Katara groans and snaps her head to the right, staring into Sokka’s eyes.

“Yes, Sokka. I just eat at a normal pace, unlike you.” She glances down at his already empty plate and sighs, shoving a bite of her eggs into her mouth. 

“Sheesh, I was just asking.” Sokka says, taking a bit of bread off of Suki’s plate. 

“Sorry, sorry. I just-” Katara rubs her temples. “Didn’t get very much sleep last night.” She looks across the table at Zuko, who is staring down at his food. 

Katara shovels a little more food onto her fork, despite having no intention to eat it. Zuko hasn’t looked at her at all this morning. Is he embarrassed? Nothing happened. They just… looked at flowers. In the moonlight. Alone. Katara feels her face heating up. Sokka looks over at her questioningly. 

“Katara? You sure you’re alright?”

Katara quickly looks up, laughing nervously. “Y-Yeah! Food’s just a little bit… spicy. Heh.” 

Sokka narrows his eyes at her. “Ok…”

“So!” Zuko says rather loudly, drawing everyone’s attention off of Katara and onto him. “Where are you guys headed next?”

“Ba Sing Se.” Aang says, his mouth partially full of food. “Earth King wants me there for some festival, and everyone else is headed that way too.” 

“Me and Katara have some important water tribe business to discuss with the king.” Sokka says proudly. 

“And I’ve got some earthbending to teach!” Toph yells, slamming her fists onto the table. 

Suki smiles. “Me and Toph are both doing some teaching in Ba Sing Se, although her teaching style is a little bit more… aggressive.”

“Hey, when you taught me you made me wear a dress!” Sokka says, crossing his arms. “That seems pretty aggressive.”

“Well, you were being sexist. You deserved it.”

“I hate it when you’re right.” 

Katara looks over at Zuko, who is now smiling. Katara clears her throat. “Maybe you could come with us, Zuko.” She says. Everyone at the table goes quiet and looks over at her. Her cheeks turn pink. “I-I mean, I’m sure Iroh would be happy to see you.”

“I would, but I have so much work to do.” Zuko gives Katara his best reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine. Tell him I wish him well.”

“Pfft, workaholic.” Toph says, plopping a berry into her mouth. 

“Hey, hey. I’m sure Mr. Firelord over there has a lot of work to do.” Sokka says.

“I do a lot of work too!” Aang says.

“You’re the avatar, Aang.” Toph replies, smirking. “It doesn’t count.”

“And you guys wonder why I hang out with townspeople more than you. At least they appreciate what I do.” Aang grumbles. Katara just laughs.

“She’s kidding, Aang. We know you work very hard.”

“Thank you, Katara.”

Zuko suddenly stands up, pushing his chair in. “I actually have some work to do today, since I took a day off yesterday.” 

Toph frowns. “Seriously? We’re here to visit you, not your palace!”

“I know, I know.” Zuko says, sighing. “I’m sorry. I’ll be done before dinner, I promise.”

“Can’t you take one more day off?” Aang asks, swallowing the last of his breakfast.

“I don’t want to slack off-”

“I think you deserve a few days off, Zuko.” Katara says, making eye contact with him. He stops his protest, looking at her, too. “I’m just saying, you don’t have to work so hard.” She looks down a little guiltily. “Some of us certainly aren’t.”

Zuko glances at all the faces around him, torn. Eventually, he sits back down, letting out a long sigh. “I’ll think about it.” 

After that, conversation returns to normal. Katara finds herself zoning out, not really paying attention to what anyone is saying.

“I think I’m going to take a walk.” She blurts out after a few minutes. 

“Something wrong, Katara?” Zuko asks. Katara stands up and turns around, already halfway out of the room. 

“Nope, just want some air. I’ll be around.” She then hurries out the door, not bothering to look back.

She begins to wander around the halls, not really sure where she’s going. There are just too many things going on in her mind for her to sit still. The only reason she’s here is because she follows Aang and Sokka around, right? Maybe she really did just want to see Zuko. But she still just follows Aang and Sokka wherever they go. Everyone else has achieved such great things already. It’s been two whole years since the war ended. Why hasn’t she been able to find her place yet? She just wants to have… a purpose. Aang is lucky. He’s always had a purpose, and he will for the rest of his life. Sokka and Suki are leaders, Toph is a teacher, and even Zuko’s found something meaningful to do with his life. He’s the firelord, for god’s sake. 

Katara’s spiraling thoughts are interrupted when she looks up and realizes she’s at the garden, standing in front of that same glass door Zuko held open for her the night before. Her feet just brought her back here again. She sighs, pushing open the door and heading back out into the garden space. Maybe some fresh air will do her good. 

She walks along the path, gazing around at the bushes. The flowers look different in daylight. They’re a little less sparkling and magical. She pauses, looking down at a specific bundle of flowers. The shimmering blue moonflowers. The ones Zuko said reminded him of her. She kneels down, holding one of the blossoms gently in her palm. He called her beautiful. She wonders, did he really mean it? She absentmindedly plays with the edges of her braid, slowly beginning to untie it. She smiles as she shakes her hair down, brown locks cascading over her shoulders. That braid was starting to give her a headache. 

“Hey.” Katara quickly turns around, staring up to see none other than Zuko standing there. She rises, fiddling with the hair ties that now rest in her hand.

“Zuko… what are you doing here?” She asks.

“Toph and Aang finished their food and Sokka and Suki left, to go… somewhere.” He smiles. “I figured you might be here.”

“Well, congratulations, you figured right.” Katara says, laughing. She strolls over to the edge of the large blossoming tree, sitting down on a fence of stone that surrounds the tree's roots. Somehow, she feels a little less awkward now than she did last night. Maybe it’s the time of day.

“Do… Do you think you’re going to come with us?” Katara asks. “To Ba Sing Se, I mean.”

“Oh, no.” Zuko says, his smile fading. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to, but I just don’t have the time.”

“You work an awful lot, even for a firelord.”

“Well, there’s an awful lot to fix still.” Zuko sighs. “I’m still working on overhauling the military, and then there’s also immigration laws, war criminals, the prison system, trouble with rebellions- the list goes on.” Zuko slouches over a bit, exhausted just thinking about it. “This country is a mess.”

“I understand, but… well you can’t fix all of that in two years, as the world’s youngest firelord no less.” Katara takes Zuko’s hand, looking at him in the eyes. “You’re allowed to take a break.”

Zuko pulls his hand away, scoffing. “No, I’m not. Look around Katara. Look at the mess my family’s made.”

“That’s your father’s fault, not yours-”

“Well maybe it is my fault!” Zuko shouts, raising his voice a bit louder than he intended to. He sighs, sinking down into his seat. “I spent three years of my life wasting away on some ship, searching for honour I wouldn’t find.” He looks down at the ground, his voice barely above a whisper. “I have to make up for it somehow.”

They sit there in silence for a moment. Katara doesn’t know what to say. She takes a deep breath and swallows her fear, reaching her hand out to Zuko. But Zuko speaks before she can.

“I wish I had done something.”

Katara pulls her hand back, putting it on her knee. “What could you have done, Zuko? You were thirteen, and just banished from your kingdom.”

“I don’t know… just anything that wasn’t what I did do.” Zuko looks up at Katara. He doesn’t look angry anymore. He just looks… sad. On the verge of tears. “I have to make the world forgive me. I have…” He looks away. “I have to make you forgive me.” 

Katara gives in and grabs Zuko’s hands, holding them tight this time. He looks up at her. “Zuko… I forgave you a long time ago. It’s your turn to forgive yourself.” 

Zuko smiles sadly. “I wish I could.” 

Katara doesn’t know how long they sit there, just looking at each other, neither one of them sure what to say. Eventually, Katara can’t stand to look at Zuko’s guilty face anymore. She wraps her arms around him, locking him in a tight hug.

“I… know it’s hard. To forgive yourself.” Katara says, choking down her tears. “But it’s okay. You’ll be okay. I promise.” 

Slowly, Zuko wraps his arms around her, too. He holds her, a few tears falling onto his cheeks. 

“Thank you, Katara.”

  
  



	6. The Cavern

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara and Zuko go to Zuko's training spot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry for not updating yesterday, I had an awful headache so I couldn't write. I'm feeling better now though.  
> This work now has 1000 hits! Thank you so much to everyone who has read it. This is a big thing for me, especially since this is my first ever work on ao3.  
> If anyone has suggestions for a different work they want to see, please let me know. Hopefully my writing will get better with time.
> 
> UPDATE: I've been feeling a lack of motivation to write lately, especially with this project. I'm going to take about a week to recuperate and decide whether I want to start something new, continue on this, or wait a little while longer to write again.

Katara and Zuko are sitting apart now, both staring off into the sky. Silence hangs in the morning air between them. Neither of them really know what to say. Eventually, Zuko forces a little fake cough.

“Well, uh, I guess we should go find the others.” Zuko says, still refusing to look over at Katara. 

Katara wraps her hair ties around her wrists, casually stretching and twisting them. “I guess we could, I don’t know. I sort of just like talking to… you.” Katara blushes.

“Oh. Uhm. Ok.” Zuko runs his hand over the flat stone next to him. There are a few more moments of quiet.

Katara scooches over, leaving about two feet of space between her and Zuko. She glances over at him. “What was it like, living here?”

“Huh?” Zuko looks up at her, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“I just mean… well, I grew up in a really tiny village, you know,” She glances at the garden around them. “What was it like to live in a place as big as this?”

Zuko shrugs. “I’m not sure. I wasn’t allowed out much, you know, being the prince and stuff.” He lets out a little sigh. “It was really just me and Azula.”

“Same here, actually. Sokka was the only one in our village my age, and let me tell you, he gets exhausting pretty fast.” Katara laughs. Zuko laughs along with her. “Sokka and I, we used to have these competitions. We’d see who could build all sorts of things out of snow the quickest. One time, I tried to cheat using water bending.” Katara giggles just thinking about it. “I ended up just splashing a bunch of water into Sokka’s face. He was soaked.” 

Zuko smiles at her. “Sounds fun.” He pauses. “Azula tried to make me play a game with firebending once. I ended up burning her.” His smile fades. “Father was so angry.” There’s a long pause as Katara stares at him blankly, unable to think up a single good response. Zuko looks up and nervously laughs. “Sorry. I killed the mood, didn’t I?” 

“I-It’s fine, I’m glad you’re just… talking… now.” Katra sputters out. “So…. you, uh, you have the day off, right? Is there anywhere you want to, maybe… go?”

Zuko thinks for a moment before standing up, outstretching his hand towards Katara. “I know a place.”

It’s been a little while now since Katara and Zuko left the palace. They are walking on a thin dirt path through a field of tall, brown grass. The path stops as the pair hit a mountain. Katara stumbles forward, standing by Zuko and staring up at the rocky hill. It’s a shorter mountain, but it’s still pretty substantial. The mountain is made up of ugly, ashen gray rocks that look sharp enough to be used as a weapon. Katara doesn’t understand why Zuko would want to take her here. But then Zuko turns, disappearing behind a crevice in the mountain. Katara cautiously follows him, pushing past the overgrown weeds to enter a small, tunnel like cave. 

“Zuko!?” She calls out into the cave. It’s too dark for her to see anything. She takes a few steps forward when a spark suddenly appears in front of her. Zuko turns around, holding a ball of orange fire in his hand. The flame easily lights up the tunnel, casting Zuko’s face in an elegant glow. 

“Come on. We’re almost there.”

She jogs up to reach Zuko, taking her place beside him as she begins to walk forward. The tunnel is just wide enough for the two of them to stand side by side. Katara looks up at Zuko, his scar illuminated by the fire in his hand. The light makes his golden eyes shimmer. After a few minutes of walking, they reach an opening in the tunnel. It’s bright and… hot. Zuko extinguishes his fire, heading into the space. 

Katara audibly gasps as she takes a step out of the tunnel. She’s standing in a large rocky cavern, filled with glittering volcanic rock and obsidian. But that isn’t the impressive part. On her right, there is a waterfall of hot, flowing lava. It elegantly sweeps down the rocky wall, creating a curtain of lava before some of it spills into a molten river that cuts through the center of the cavern. Katara can’t help a grin from spreading across her face. It’s beautiful, and a little bit, well, insane. She looks over at Zuko, playfully jabbing him in the side with her elbow.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me about this!” She shouts, staring at the gorgeous lava waterfall with wide eyes. She barely notices the insufferable heat it emits. Zuko laughs.

“I thought it would be a good surprise.” He says, taking another step into the cavern. He doesn’t seem to be bothered by the heat all that much. He gently takes Katara’s hand, guiding her closer to the lava waterfall. “We aren’t even there yet.”

The two of them stand in front of the lava curtain. Zuko takes a deep breath, closing his eyes and centering himself in front of the lava. In one swift motion he extends his arms, focusing on the material in front of him. Katara looks on in aw as the lava begins to peel away, opening up to reveal another tunnel. Zuko looks back at Katara’s stunned face and smirks.

“You coming? I don’t have all day. Lavabending is a lot harder than it looks.” Katara hurries through the lava curtain, containing her shocked laughter. As soon as she’s in Zuko follows, carefully shutting the lava flow behind them, returning it to normal. Zuko wipes some sweat off of his forehead. “I usually only hold it open for me.” Katara stares back at him beaming.

“I had no idea firebenders could bend  _ lava _ !” She exclaims. Zuko blushes a little and laughs, clearly flattered.

“I-I didn’t know either. I just… tried it one day.” He says, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Katara peers at the glowing lava that now falls behind him. She smirks.

“Well, this place better be worth it.”

“Trust me, it will be.”

Katara doesn't have to wait long to see what Zuko is talking about. Soon they open up into another, smaller cavern. It’s a small dome like cave, and the walls are covered in luminescent mushrooms. The mushrooms drape over the stone walls, filling the space with a surreal light blue glow. Katara wanders in, awestruck. The floor is surprisingly smooth and polished. There’s a steaming alcove in the wall, filled with hot water. She stares back at Zuko.

“How did you find this place?”

Zuko walks in, standing beside her. “I wanted to find a place to be on my own, away from the palace, and I stumbled across this cave. It’s perfect for training,” He shoots a fireball at the wall. The ball of flames dissipates upon impact with the wall, not leaving a single scratch on the rock or the mushrooms around it. “Since I can’t damage anything.” 

Katara smiles, her face glowing in the soft light. “It’s incredible.” She walks over to the pool of steaming water, staring down into its reflective surface. “There’s even water for me to bend.”

“I wouldn’t recommend that.” Zuko says, running over. “It’s boiling hot. You don’t want to touch it.” Zuko looks down. “Trust me.”

“And why would you know?”

“Let’s just say that, uh… I didn’t bring a drink the first time I came down here.” 

Katara laughs. She lifts her hands, pulling a bubble of water out of the pool. “Good thing I can cool it down then, huh?” She says, gently floating the water bubble through the air. “See?” Zuko reaches out to touch it, but before he can, Katara slams the bubble of lukewarm water into his face, soaking him. She bursts out laughing. Zuko pulls his now wet hair out of his face, glaring at Katara. But as soon as he sees her laughing, a smile begins to grow on his face. He starts laughing, too. 

“Congratulations, you got me.” Zuko says, spitting out a bit of water. Katara’s laughter finally dies down.

“Yeah I did. And you know what the best part is?”

“What..?”

“You can’t fight back!” She shouts, launching another ball of water at his face. She nails him yet again. Zuko shakes his head, trying to wipe the water out of his eyes. 

He cracks his knuckles. “I can’t firebend, but I can do this.” He suddenly launches forward, sweeping Katara off of her feet and hoisting her over his shoulder, grinning. 

Katara kicks her feet around, trying her best to be angry. She’s laughing too hard though, giggling wildly. “Put me down!” She shouts, still cracking up. “And wipe that stupid grin off your face!” She tries to summon up some more water to throw at him but she’s laughing too hard to focus, and the water bubble ends up splatting on the ground before it reaches Zuko. Zuko laughs too, gently setting Katara back on her feet. They both stand there, giggling. 

“Ugh… you’re… you’re the worst!” Katara yells at Zuko in between her gasps for air. Her laughter finally begins to fade, and she’s able to take a few deep breaths regaining her calm.

“Hey, you started it.” Zuko says, shrugging. As Katara finally calms down, she finds that she and Zuko are staring at each other. Pink begins to cover her cheeks.

Katara begins to scoop up the water on the floor, gathering it all into one bubble. She drags some of the stray hot spring water off of Zuko too, in a futile attempt to dry him off a little. His hair is still soaking wet. She unceremoniously plops the water back into the pool. 

“There. I fixed it, see?” She says, looking over at Zuko with his fully soaked hair and somewhat soaked clothes. He sighs. 

“Sure.” Zuko takes off the outer layer of his robes, the part covered in water, tossing it aside. “At least my shirt is pretty dry.” 

“A little water won’t kill you.” Katara says. “Well, I mean, it could, but it won’t right now.” Katara wanders around the cavern, looking up and down the walls. “You know, this place reminds me of a fire nation town we visited during the war.”

“Why would a cave remind you of a town?” Zuko asks.

“Me, Aang, Sokka, Toph; we stayed in a cave. Aang invited a bunch of schoolchildren to come dance.” She giggles. “It sounds crazy, I know, but none of them knew how. I guess he just wanted to teach them.”

“Oh… we’ve never really been a ‘dance’ sort of people.” Zuko looks down. “At least not when the war started.”

“Well, you should. Dancing is fun.” Katara says. “Although I’m guessing the royal family must’ve learned to dance a little.”

Zuko clenches his teeth nervously. “Well… uh… not really, actually.” 

“What?” Katara stomps over to Zuko. “There’s no way you can’t dance  _ at all. _ ”

“I can do the dancing dragon firebending form. Does that count?” Zuko says sheepishly. 

“No, that does  _ not _ count. Come here.” Katara steps forward, taking Zuko’s arms. She places one of his hands on her hip and the other on her shoulder, completely ignoring the growing blush on his face. “It’s easy. You just put your arms here and dance.” She wraps her arms around his waist, looking up at him. She begins to lead his steps, their feet moving in a rather clunky rhythm. Katara is too absorbed in her dance teaching to realize how close she is to Zuko. “There, see! You just move your feet around in a pattern, like this. And then once you’ve got that…” Katara suddenly twists into a twirl before falling back into Zuko’s arms. “You can do things like… this…” She looks up, finally snapping back into reality. Zuko is holding her arms, her back up against his shoulder. Her face suddenly turns bright red. 

Zuko smiles at her, his own cheeks burning. “Oh, uh… I see.” He spins her around, holding onto her back and pulling her a little closer. “Like… this?”

Katara’s heart feels like it’s going to leap out of her chest. “Y-yeah.” Zuko’s feet start to glide around. They practically float through the cave as Zuko starts to get a hang of it. He twirls her, ending it in a dip. They stay there a moment before Zuko pulls her back up and she takes the lead, gracefully dancing across the cave floor, arm in arm with Zuko. 

She doesn’t know how long they dance for. Her nerves begin to fade. The cave is silent, but there's music flowing in Katara and Zuko’s heads that carries them across the floor, letting them fall away from reality, if only for a few moments. Eventually, Zuko stops. They stand there, surrounded by the glow of the cave. He brushes a lock of hair behind Katara’s ear before taking a step back, a tiny little genuine smile on his face.

“Thanks.” He says. “That was… fun.”


	7. Azula

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the cave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry I was gone for so long! My break went longer than expected, so I hope some of my readers are still here. I sorta lost the drive to continue this project, but hopefully I can start updating again. I will probably switch to an update every 2 days rather than everyday, though.  
> Sorry this chapter is shorter, trying to get into the groove of writing again.

Katara perches on the edge of a rocky outcropping, Zuko sitting a few feet beside her. She’s playing with some water, concentrating as she weaves the cool liquid between her fingertips. Waterbending has become somewhat therapeutic for her, giving her a connection to home even when she’s traveling with Aang. It’s also a very good distraction from how crushingly silent the cave has become. Zuko coughs, causing Katara’s focus to break and her little bubble of water to go crashing towards the ground. It splashes down on the rock as she looks over to see Zuko standing. All of the emotion on his face is gone yet again, replaced by a look of stern and cold determination.

“Sorry, we’ve got to go. There’s something I need to do.” He says, hastily snatching up the outer layer of his robe off of the ground and slinging it over his shoulder.

Katara frowns. “What? You’re taking a few days off. What could you need to do?”

Zuko brushes off her question, adding to Katara’s quickly growing frustration. “It’s important. I’ll be quick.” Katara grumbles as she pushes herself off of her seat. Why is he always like this? It’s infuriating. One moment he’s all sweet and open, and the next he’s a cold jerk who doesn’t have time for anyone. It wears her patience thin.

“Oh, so you’re just going to drag me off to some cave and then leave with no explanation.” Katara spits out, glaring at him. “Real nice.” Katara will admit, she might be being a little bit petty right now. But rightfully so! He doesn’t just get to run off every time he feels a little awkward. They had a nice moment there, and Katara is too stubborn to let him leave that easily.

Zuko lets out a long sigh, turning around to face Katara. He looks so tired that Katara’s frustration slips a little. “Fine. It’s just…” he pauses, sighing. “Today’s Azula’s birthday.” Katara’s face falls as she immediately regrets every word that just came out of her mouth. She bites her tongue, cursing her own temper.

“Oh. I-I’m sorry. I… didn’t know.”

“Yeah. You didn’t.” Katara shrinks a little at Zuko’s bitter tone. He takes a deep breath, wiping any fleeting hints of anger off his face. “I visit her every year. Not that she really talks to me.”

Katara clenches her teeth. She’s tried to forget about Azula entirely. To her, that girl is a psychopath. A sadistic monster. Insane. But sometimes, Katara forgets that, to Zuko, Azula is a sister, not just an enemy. “I-I get it, but, are you sure it’s good for you? To see her?” Katara looks down at the ground. “She isn’t exactly a healthy person to be around.” She mutters so that Zuko can’t hear.

“She’s my sister, Katara. I can’t just leave her to rot in a cell.”

“I know, but-”

“No. You don’t know.” Zuko’s voice cuts through the muggy cavern air. “Imagine if Sokka did those terrible things. If he were the one locked up in a prison for life. How could you just leave him there?”

“Sokka isn’t like that!”

“Like what, Katara!” Katara freezes. She doesn’t know how to respond. So she stays quiet, watching with wide eyes as Zuko collects himself. “She is my family. I grew up with her, I lived with her I… I want to believe I can change her.”

“For your sake, I hope she can. But to be honest with you,” Katara lowers her voice. “I don’t think she will.”

“That’s what you thought about me.”

“Zuko, you aren’t like her. You’re… different.”

“How?!” Zuko snaps. “I was just like her. I could’ve been the one in that cell.” Zuko takes a long pause, breathing deeply. “Azula turns sixteen years old today. She’s just a child, Katara.”

“You were just a child, too,” Katara takes a few steps towards him. “When you were banished from your home. And I was just a child when my mother was taken from me.” She reaches up to touch the pendant dangling around her neck, the necklace that she’s never dared to give up since that day. She slowly begins to unfasten the cloth, gently removing the choker and placing it tenderly in her palm. She stares down at it, swallowing hard. “But those horrible things that happened don’t define us, do they?” She flips her hand over, watching as the necklace falls, clattering onto the stone floor. Zuko’s eyes widen in shock as she raises her foot, stomping down on the pendant. She can hear the glass crunch underneath her heel, and she tries not to focus on the sickening sound. She tries to focus on Zuko’s glassy face. “They never have.”

Zuko stares down at the now crushed necklace, completely in shock. “Katara, you didn’t have to-”

“It’s fine,” Katara says, raising her chin high so she doesn’t have to look at the shattered glass beneath her shoe. “It was about time I moved on anyway.” Katara takes a deep breath. She isn’t going to cry. “Just remember that when you visit Azula. Okay?” Zuko nods slowly, taking in Katara’s face. She’s desperately holding back tears, clenching her fists by her sides. Zuko finally drops his stern look and smiles at Katara. 

“I will.”

Katara sniffles, her stern expression wavering. “A-And if Azula does anything to hurt you I… I swear I’ll make her regret it!” Katara shouts a little louder than she expected. She can feel the tears forming at the edges of her eyes, all of her compiling emotions threatening to come out at once. She refuses to cry right now, especially not in front of Zuko, and  _ especially  _ not while she’s trying to make threats. Zuko approaches her, putting his hands on her shoulders. He bends over, giving her a soft kiss on her forehead. Her face turns bright red.

“I know you will.” Zuko let’s his hand fall from her shoulder into her hand, wrapping his fingers around hers as the first few tears start to spill onto Katara’s cheeks. “Now let’s get out of here, okay?”

Katara is lying on a patch of grass, staring up at the cloudy sky. A cool breeze soares through the air, but it’s hard for Katara to enjoy. It’s been 2 hours since Zuko took Appa and went to go see Azula. He said it would be quick, but clearly he was wrong. Now Katara’s stuck all alone, since Sokka and Suki are out in town and Aang and Toph are probably riding some dangerous animal somewhere. She tried to get Zuko to take her with him, but he refused. So now she’s stuck here, squinting up as the sky as she tries to make some sort of picture out of them. Just as she’s about to give up and head inside to grab a consolation snack, Appa descends from the sky, plopping down in the stables next to her. 

Katara dashes over to Appa, skidding to a stop on the dirty ground beneath her. She watches as Zuko leaps down from Appa’s back, dusting off his clothes as he lands on the ground. 

“How’d it go?” Katara asks nervously. She’s been worried this whole time. She knows Zuko can take care of himself but… still. Katara’s heard enough horror stories from Ty Lee to know how terrifying Azula can really be. She doubts that shackles have dampened Azula’s spirit. 

Zuko doesn’t even turn to face Katara. “Fine.” Katara tilts her head, concerned. That was rough, even for Zuko. And after what they talked about-

“Zuko, is something wrong?” She asks. He doesn’t respond, and just starts walking away. Katara trails behind him, keeping her distance. “What happened?” Still, he says nothing. “Zuko, what happened?” 

“I’m fine, okay!!” He shouts, whipping his head around to look at Katara. His eyes are puffy and red, and it’s obvious he had been crying. Hard. Katara reaches an arm out to him, but he just turns around and rushes away from the stable, disappearing into the palace. Katara stares off at the door he entered, which is still swinging from its hinges. She clenches her fists in frustration. She should’ve pushed harder to come with him. She had a bad feeling about this from the start. What hellish things did Azula say to make him like that?! Katara kicks at the dirt in frustration. She’s so done with this. All she wants is to move on. They fought too hard to get an ending like this, struggled and suffered too much to deal with more problems and pain. It isn’t fair that they all have to fix everything. It isn’t fair that her mother doesn’t get to see the end of that godforsaken war. It isn’t fair that… Katara sinks to the ground, clutching her arms close to her body. 

“It isn’t fair that Zuko doesn’t get to be happy.” She whispers, so faint that she can barely even hear herself. She sees a tear splash down in the dirt beneath her. “It isn’t fair we don’t get to be happy.” 


End file.
